Modern vehicles are equipped with sophisticated electronic devices such as multimedia entertainment systems, GPS navigation systems, Internet access devices, and the like. This invention is directed to a display method and apparatus for navigation system for guiding the user to the destination and for displaying traffic information which is typically implemented in such a vehicle electronic device, although the present invention is not limited to the automobile use. This invention can also be applied to a hand-held navigation system, remote terminal, PDA (personal digital assistant), etc. However, for the convenience of explanation, the present invention will be described with respect to a vehicle navigation system.
When driving an automobile, a user wants to reach the destination quickly and smoothly. A user uses the route calculation function of the navigation system to obtain the effective route to a particular destination. In this function, the processor provided in the navigation system calculates an optimum route to the destination. However, because of various traffic incidents, such as traffic jams, accidents, construction, etc., it is sometimes difficult to enjoy smooth driving to the destination. Thus, when driving an automobile to the destination guided by a vehicle navigation system, a user wants to know whether there are any traffic incidents that may affect his/her travel to the destination.
Today, there is a radio communication service which provides traffic information to subscribed members through a wireless transmission or a telephone network. If a user is a member of such a service, he is able to receive the ongoing traffic information through the vehicle navigation system, a portable navigation device, or the like, having a radio transmitter or an Internet access capability. For example, such traffic information (typically depicted by traffic incident icons) will be combined with a map image of an area where the user is currently located.
The traffic conditions can be classified into several categories. For example, the condition is conceivable wherein one vehicle or more vehicles stalled on the middle or proximate with the calculated route for any reason. Another condition is that two or more vehicles collide on or proximate to the calculated route. Still another condition is where traffic construction is in progress while automobile accidents are not involved. Still another condition is that the traffic is extremely slow even though no accident or construction exists but only because there are too many vehicles on the road at the same time. There may be still other conceivable traffic condition types.
Such types of traffic condition are relevant when the user wants to determine which route to take to reach the destination. Each traffic type can pose different consideration in determining the specific route to the destination. For example, the user may reason that the problem associated with a stalled vehicle can be quickly eliminated while the problem due to a road construction may be long-lasting. If the user makes such determination, the user may decide to ignore the stalled vehicle in evaluating the route to the destination but try to avoid the road construction.
Traffic maneuvers can pose similar problems as well. Traffic maneuvers refer to the operation of the vehicle in turning or stopping, etc. When the user wants to avoid making a left turn since the user is uncomfortable with the move, the user may want to make an alternative route that does not involve or decreases the instances of left turns. Still another situation where the user wants to avoid a specific maneuver is when the user knows that making the particular maneuver will lead to an undesirable area or condition. For instance, the user may know that by making a right turn at a particular intersection, he will get into a bumpy road. Even if the bumpy route requires less travel time to the destination, the user may want to avoid damages to his vehicle or discomfort in driving. Thus, the user may want to change the route to avoid the bumpy road.
The user may also wish to eliminate a certain category of point of interest (“POI”) from a POI list so as not to display the particular category of POIs. The navigation system is capable of listing various types of POIs along the route. However, because there are many types (categories and sub-categories) of POI, the navigation system displays a long list of POIs, which may become difficult for the user to find the desired POI data. Such a long list of POIs can be distracting to select a desired POI type from many entries of POI in the list, the user may wish to limit POI type to be displayed on a screen. For example, the user may want to know only about gas stations along the route. In that case, he may wish to eliminate such types of POIs as food or shopping area, or the like, from the POI list.
As described above, the user desires to use his discretion in determining which route to take or not to take by limiting or avoiding particular traffic incidents or traffic maneuvers. The user may also wish to eliminate certain POI types to obtain a tidy view on a display. The process of limiting or avoiding particular traffic conditions and maneuvers and POI types must be performed with minimum distraction to the user so that the user can concentrate on driving. The process must also allow the user to specify the conditions to a reasonable detail at a glance. Thus, there is a substantial need for a navigation system that allows the user to easily limit or avoid particular traffic conditions and maneuvers.